וָאֹמַ֤ר אֶל־בְּנֵיהֶם֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר בְּחוּקֵּ֤י אֲבֹֽותֵיכֶם֙ אַל־תֵּלֵ֔כוּ וְאֶת־מִשְׁפְּטֵיהֶ֖ם אַל־תִּשְׁמֹ֑רוּ וּבְגִלּוּלֵיהֶ֖ם אַל־תִּטַּמָּֽאוּ׃
And I said to their sons in the wilderness, ‘In the statutes of your fathers you shall not walk, and their judgments you shall not keep, and with their idols you shall not defile yourselves.
Morphology
- וָאֹמַר – Root: אָמַר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 1cs; Translation: “And I said”; Notes: Continuation of divine speech.
- אֶל־בְּנֵיהֶם – Root: בֵּן; Form: Preposition אֶל + noun masculine plural construct + 3mp suffix; Translation: “to their sons”; Notes: Refers to the next generation of Yisraʾel.
- בַּמִּדְבָּר – Root: מִדְבָּר; Form: Preposition בְּ + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “in the wilderness”; Notes: Setting of the divine command.
- בְּחוּקֵּי – Root: חֹק; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “in the statutes of”; Notes: Refers to the practices of the ancestors.
- אֲבֹותֵיכֶם – Root: אָב; Form: Noun masculine plural construct + 2mp suffix; Translation: “your fathers”; Notes: Refers to previous generations of Yisraʾel.
- אַל־תֵּלֵכוּ – Root: הָלַךְ; Form: Qal imperfect 2mp with negative particle; Translation: “you shall not walk”; Notes: Prohibition against following ancestral ways.
- וְאֶת־מִשְׁפְּטֵיהֶם – Root: מִשְׁפָּט; Form: Conjunction + direct object marker + noun masculine plural + 3mp suffix; Translation: “and their judgments”; Notes: Refers to their legal customs.
- אַל־תִּשְׁמֹרוּ – Root: שָׁמַר; Form: Qal imperfect 2mp with negative particle; Translation: “you shall not keep”; Notes: Prohibition against obeying foreign statutes.
- וּבְגִלּוּלֵיהֶם – Root: גִּלּוּל; Form: Conjunction + preposition בְּ + noun masculine plural + 3mp suffix; Translation: “and with their idols”; Notes: Derogatory term for false gods.
- אַל־תִּטַּמָּאוּ – Root: טָמֵא; Form: Hitpael imperfect 2mp with negative particle; Translation: “you shall not defile yourselves”; Notes: Prohibition against ritual and moral pollution.